New Year’s resolutions are so full of promise and optimism: Exercise every day! Learn to_____! Take an exciting trip! There’s nothing wrong with any of those resolutions. They’re all great. But what if you could really make changes that would affect not just one aspect of your life but every bit of it? I’m in. Are you? Those kinds of changes start with attitude. Then they’re followed by action and attention.
Making New Year’s resolutions is easy; keeping New Year’s resolutions is hard. But there are 3 things you can do to make your resolutions more realistic and achievable.
1. Change your attitude.
First, get your mind in the game. Even if you don’t feel like it, decide that you will make a change. Put the old “act as if” saying into action. Don’t wait for inspiration or a lightning bolt of awakening to hit. If you really want to change your life starting on January 1, do it.
Also, make sure the way you talk to yourself (in your mind, not out loud!) is encouraging. It’s tough to have a good attitude if you’re beating yourself up constantly.
2. Have an action plan.
Before you start tackling your resolution, come up with a plan, and make sure it follows the SMART way for setting goals. That way, you can see if your goal is realistic before you get started.
3. Pay daily attention to your progress.
Part of the SMART way to set goals is to make sure your progress in attaining them is measurable. So check in with your plan each day. Is the plan working for you, or do you need to tweak something?
If you falter on your plan, don’t give up. Use this attention step to find out what went wrong and what triggered your getting off track.
Tell us! What was the last goal you met? How did you do it?
